Friday, June 15, 2012

More bilingual staff, vigorous celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month and an end to practices that deter undocumented parents from volunteering in schools are among the suggestions a coalition of Latino groups has presented to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders.

Prieto

The proposals came out of an April forum that brought together about 200 people to talk about the state of education for more than 20,000 Hispanic students in CMS. Organizers presented the findings to school board Chairman Ericka Ellis-Stewart and members Tom Tate and Joyce Waddell this week, said Rafael Prieto of Qué Pasa/Mi Gente newspapers. They'll discuss the ideas with Superintendent Heath Morrison on July 5, Prieto said.

For several years, Hispanics have been the fastest-growing minority group in CMS. They made up 17 percent of the student body in the school year that just ended, and at least half the students at five elementary schools. But the Latino voice has been mostly silent in public discussion. Community leaders have been working to change that, and the education forum took those efforts to a bigger audience.

Among the ideas that emerged:

*Stop asking parents to provide a Social Security number for volunteer background checks. That intimidates those without papers, and there are other ways to check criminal records, the report says.

*Actively recruit bilingual staff and pay a stipend to employees fluent in another language.

*Provide better information about college opportunities to all students, "regardless of immigration status."

*Find better ways to communicate with Spanish-speaking families and partner with community groups who can support them.

*Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month districtwide, rather than leaving it to individual schools.

The ultimate goal: Get more Hispanic students across the finish line and into college and careers. Only 58 percent of Hispanic students in CMS graduated in four years, compared with 73.5 percent of all students.

"This is a crisis that CMS and the Latino community have to address together," the report says.

The coalition is likely to find a sympathetic ear in Morrison, who is leaving a district in Reno, Nev., that is 37 percent Hispanic. Morrison is big on promoting "cultural competence" in education, and started learning Spanish so he could at least try to speak to Hispanic families in their own tongue.

I am a teacher in CMS and this is a JOKE. You are in the United States, you want a FREE education, LEARN THE LANGUAGE! I am so sick and tired of people saying we as teachers need to learn Spanish. What about the Asians, do we need to learn all the Asian languages as well? No, because the Asians LEARN English. As long as CMS and the U.S. is will to cater to Latinos they will continue to demand we adapt instead of them adapting.

Not an ounce of sympathy for any illegal and their offspring - regardless of whether their offspring had a choice to come here or not.

I've helped several people immigrate here LEGALLY and it is a slap in the face to those who go through the proper channels and those of us who live here legally, to give others something for nothing and have those who are here illegally constantly demanding they are entitled.

Is our immigration system broken and in need of repair? Absolutely, but we are a nation of laws and regardless of whether the system is broken or not, ENFORCE the LAW!

Furthermore, it's time to end having __________ (<--- insert your own ethnicity here) months and get on with educating ALL kids.

Charlotte is an urban school district where failure to graduate is high. That dismal failure is a lost resource in an economy that is now global. Every day we wake-up to another U.S. company that has gone under because an overseas competitor has eaten its lunch. If the Latino community wants to step forward and claim what others don’t want I see no problem.

Look at the last names (yes, profiling) on the high school valedictorian and salutatorian list just released by CMS. Half of each list is a non-traditional name. These kids want to succeed. They are getting the support of their parents.

Who would you rather have in charge of the U.S. twenty years from now? A guy or gal who didn’t appreciate the opportunities they had as children or those cleaver enough to grab the brass ring now?

Kudos to Heath Morrison for working to learn Spanish. It is a beautiful language and a pleasure to speak and read.

CMS is in the business of educating children. As is frequently pointed out in this column, this job is most effectively accomplished when families are engaged in their children's education and connected to their children's schools. Being able to effectively communicate with Latino families as well helping them feel comfortable and welcome at schools can go a long way toward helping educate Latino children – the large majority of whom are American citizens and will play a significant role in our country's future. The Latino families we have at Shamrock Gardens are marvelous, generous people and I am happy to do whatever I can to help their children succeed.

We are so screwed up. We send such a mixed message it is like a bad comedy sketch except it isn't funny. Deport illegals but make sure they get a good education first. Wow, suggestion number one: stop asking for SSN for volunteer background checks because it might inhibit illegals who are breaking the immigration laws but are otherwise law abiding. So what is next, stop the background check altogether because it inhibits pedaphiles. We know they love kids and are usually law abiding otherwise.

No one is calling for an end to background checks. They are saying that using Social Security numbers isn't the only way to make those checks. The point of background checks is to weed out people who have something in their background that indicates they might be a danger to children. Would you deny George W. Bush access to a school because he has a drunk driving conviction on his record?

SORRY- I dont want ILLEGAL UNDOCUMENTED parents with access to my children. This one is simple if they are afraid of the check then they are hiding something. I was taught Spanish in high school by a AMERICAN DOCUMENTED TEACHER ON STAFF. I am not against different cultures or languages I feel ANY parent voluntering that close to kids needs to be checked out. Keith W. Hurley

Are you going to be on the committee who decides even though a person is illegally here, that if it appears they are not a threat to children then it's "okay" for them to do as they please?

I don't care if a person has 20 forms of identification, if they are here illegally, they have broken the laws of the United States and should be deported.Who do I want running this country 20 years from now?

A law abiding, legal citizen of the United States, no matter what his or her ethnicity is.

Pam , this debate can go on til midnight. If your in the US then speak english. Communications are in english. If your in a Spanish elective then it can be German,Spanish,French your choice. If your in the country illegally then your already a threat. Wake up sister its the US buy the flag and all. We have a hard enough time getting citizens talking and reading properly via public education.

So should we have two sets of standards for parent background checks? US citizens get a thorough check based on their SSN and illegal aliens get a special check that ignores the fact that they are here ILLEGALLY? Exactly how are these families supporting themselves? If they are working for a legitimate company and not being paid under the table, are they using someone else's SSN? That is called identity theft and that is a crime.

To anon 10:18. Yes they are to both...using someone elses SSN, and it is a crime. Just a ps...those "undocumented"students in college must also have a SSN as ID and for loans. That must be convenient because when they get out of college they already have a bogus SSN. I do not know how exactly either workers or students do it, but the next question might be even if we use the SSN for part of the background check, whose background will get checked?

Pam - you dont have answer either. In your case let illegal or even convicts run free in the schools? does not sit right with this parent. To that I say then run your version without my State and County tax fund. Its going to go over to Country Day School. I mean your starting to sound like that idiot from Pineville,N.C. Bolyn.

Boo hoo.. I don't care how nice they are. They don't belong here and making exceptions like this for ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS is wrong and encourages them to come here and stay.

Other law abiding immigrants sacrifice and go through the proper process to become citizens because they care about America. They take the time to learn our language, culture and history. Most of these LEGAL immigrants make better citizens than the American liberals/progressives that are always pushing for these social justice reforms.

If you provide them with food, shelter and other benefits like jobs and welfare (some work, some don't), then they will keep coming. We need to be taking away all of these exceptions and enforce the laws on the books so these people will LEAVE and go back to where they came from.

If I lived in France, Germany, Italy,name any other country; I would be expected to learn their primary language. You immagrate, come illegally, whatever, LEARN THE LANGUAGE. It's the least anyone can do.

Obama planned to discuss the new policy Friday afternoon from the White House Rose Garden.

Under the administration plan, illegal immigrants will be immune from deportation if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16 and are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED, or served in the military.

So if Hispanics don't want to produce valid IDs, then how will we know they meet all the criteria above?

Pam alot of folks dont like your biased views either. I just feel bad for old Bolyn the old fellow needs a hobby. He flip flops his views more than a CMS grad at Waffle House flipping eggs. Odds are eventually both of you will pull your heads from the sand.

“American Exceptionalism” is an old term that has been modified many times but still retains one root characteristic: that there is no other nation such as the U.S.

To answer your question would be to invalidate American Exceptionalism.

Do we want to be the Ugly American in our own country?

Here is the famous line from the book:"For some reason, the [American] people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious."

*Stop asking parents to provide a Social Security number for volunteer background checks. That intimidates those without papers, and there are other ways to check criminal records, the report says.

Wow. It "intimidates" people without papers? Perhaps for a good reason?! Because they're here illegally? If you are in ANY country and are using that country's "free services" and are NOT paying taxes like others do to have the "right" to use these "free services," then you have to play the game like everyone else does.

I am NOT saying this to demean or deny children an education. But if you are living in the US, then you have to play by the US rules. Our Country is broke and broken, and continuing to ignore issues does not make them go away.

School systems operate on tax dollars. And we all know how many "budget woes" we have in CMS. So to extend "services" to people that are not paying taxes?! How does that help fix the problem? I agree that immigration laws here need fixing. For the people here that are following the law to become legal citizens, kudos to them. It's expensive and takes years. But they're finding a way to do it.

Everyone else who is undocumented needs to find a way to do it, too. Nothing in life worth working for is ever easy or free.

And the question to deny GW Bush access to schools b/c he had a drunk driving conviction? He has a social security number and has paid taxes in this Country. The background check would highlight his conviction -- the screening tool would work. A proper decision could be made then, based on the facts in his background check (and with a little common sense to go with it, knowing that he has been sober for years). After all, he's human, just like the rest of us. And just like I was approved for volunteering, but NOT DRIVING, I would be perfectly comfortable with GW Bush volunteering in my child's school.

Charlotte is an urban school district where failure to graduate is high.

This is one of the biggest issues I have with CMS. We are NOT an urban school district. We are also a SUBURBAN school district. And to try to cover 500 square miles and 159 schools is simply ineffective under one system. Yet another compelling reason to split up the district into smaller, more manageable pieces. When smaller, each section, whether urban or suburban, rich or poor, purple or orange, could be given the time and effort that particular population needs and deserves.

Just to make things clear, I used George Bush as an example because I agree with you that a background check would be designed to approve him for volunteering, not driving, and it would be silly to say he couldn't volunteer at a child or grandchild's school because he hadn't been perfect all his life (of course if he had been convicted of a violent crime, which is what the background checks look for, that would be a different story, but that's not the case). But the same goes for undocumented parents -- they would be approved for volunteering, not for seminars on immigration law, and it is equally silly to prevent them from volunteering at their children's schools.

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to work in Germany over the course of 3 months. I was there to learn the details of the SAP system we were implementing for our company/division here in the U.S.

Knowing these trips were approaching, I spent hours of my own time learning more German. I didn't want my colleagues to have to go out of their way to speak English to me... after all, I was traveling to their country, to get help from them. Why should they have to go out of their way for me?

When I arrived, I did my best (which wasn't very good most of the time) to speak their native language, as I was in THEIR country. They may have laughed at me most of the time, but they played along, and spoke German to me.

Then when we got down to the nitty gritty accounting in the system, I was having a pretty tough time with the accounting vocabulary. All of a sudden, they started speaking English to me, to make it easier for me.

But you know what, it was EASY for them, because every.single.one.of.them had taken English for years and years in school. All the Germans knew English as well as I did, because their country valued knowing more than their native language.

And after a while, I became so embarrassed for the U.S., as we are not that "advanced." And from that point on, I insisted they continue speaking German to me, even on the tough accounting details. I made myself get through it, and am proud I tried.

I guess my point is this... when you travel to a country that is not your "home-land," you can't expect that new country to cater to your every need. If you want to partake in that Country's benefits, you'd better be partaking in the "costs" that come with those services. How arrogant of anyone to think otherwise!

And while I agree CMS is in the business of educating children, I have always assumed that those children were American citizens. If they are, great. Then there's no argument from me.

If they are not, then their families owe it to themselves and to their children to follow the proper channels to BECOME U.S. citizens. Otherwise, what kind of a message are the parents sending to their children? That it's ok to break the law? That it's ok not to follow the rules?

In the grand scheme of things, though, I still am not comfortable with an undocumented parent volunteering in my child's school. I'm not saying this because I believe they are capable of harming anyone, but then again, how do ANY of us know that? All we DO know is that they are here illegally, which means they're not paying taxes. And when they're not paying taxes, their kids are using the system for free, which takes away funds for all the other kids whose families are here legally, following the rules, and paying taxes into the system.

After all, if someone is willing to come to the U.S. without proper documentation, to live off a system they are not paying into, how do we know what else they might be capable of?

Please don't take any of this in the wrong light... I'm just pointing out the fact that so many people that live here and follow the rules, pay TOO MUCH in taxes, struggle with a poor economy, etc.

Why should it be assumed that others who don't follow the rules, don't pay taxes, and don't have proper documentation should get the same "services" others do?

Sorry, I guess after working my tail off my entire school career, and doing the right thing and following the rules, makes me a tad sour. After all, how should I explain to my kids that THEY need to follow the rules because it's the right thing to do (and the LEGAL thing to do), but don't worry about the others that aren't?! I can't reconcile that in my head.

I'm not much for claiming rights based on taxpayer status, but everyone living in this country pays plenty of taxes, including sales tax and property tax rolled into monthly rents at houses and apartment complexes. And many undocumented people pay payroll taxes that they will never collect on. So the taxpayer argument doesn't really work for me.

Despite your request that I not take your statements in the wrong light, your question "how do we know what else they might be capable of?" certainly seems to be suggesting that you suspect that undocumented parents are more likely to harm children than other parents.

Sure, let's deny all kids of illegals the opportunity of education. That way they can stay at home all day long and pick up street influences. Or become child labor.

Of course you'll say, all illegals should be deported. Fine. Who takes their jobs? But there's millions of unemployed people you say. Right, then why haven't those millions applied for the day labor and other jobs that illegals generally take?

This country can't exist without illegals working those jobs, period. If you don't believe that you are ignorant. But it's easy to parrot the slogans you hear from politicians and not have to think for yourself.

These children are here, we can either turn our backs on them and push them down a road of ruin or we can try to educate them and give them opportunities.

And many undocumented people pay payroll taxes that they will never collect on.

And Pamela, this is why I cannot respect your views on this issue. The only way ILLEGALS are paying payroll taxes is:

1. They have STOLEN a SSN.

2. An employer is making their information up.

The illegals are then committing a FELONY, rather than just the civil penalty of being here illegally.

I do not want ANY criminal activity taking place in our schools.

I do not feel "sorry" for any of them. What about the person that had their SSN stolen so the illegal could "work"? What about the hell they have to go through with the IRS? Lord help the illegal that even thinks about stealing mine.

Oh, but we must help them. NO.

Charge the mooching illegals tutition to attend CMS, and then MAYBE, just MAYBE, I'd THINK about allowing ONE of them as a volunteer.

Despite your request that I not take your statements in the wrong light, your question "how do we know what else they might be capable of?" certainly seems to be suggesting that you suspect that undocumented parents are more likely to harm children than other parents.

I hoped you knew me better than that... that's exactly NOT what I was trying to say.

All I am pointing out is if someone is here illegally, and does not have a social security number, then how is anyone to know what else has happened in their past? If they're not documented, there's no paper trail to follow. If there's no paper trail to follow, no one can PROVE, one way or the other, who someone is and/or what they may or may not have done in their past.

Sorry, but my kids' (and everyone else's kids) safety is more important to me than hurting someone's feelings. I wouldn't hire a babysitter without a background check. Why would I be comfortable with allowing someone into my child's classroom that didn't have the same checks done?

Would you be comfortable with an undocumented volunteer (that you didn't know) to help out in your child's classroom?

Anyone who believes illegals are only here to take the jobs that "Americans" won't have is a fool.

If you check into the history of the tomato pickers in California, the illegals also successfully managed to stop the progress of technology of tomato harvesting machinery so that they could KEEP their manual labor jobs.

Because that's all those poor immigrants knew and it was feared that they would become "jobless" with the introduction of new technology.

Like that was a BAD THING...

Eliminate their political influence and a lot of the artificial "need" for their work and the alleged "reason" for them being here could be eliminated.

Despite your request that I not take your statements in the wrong light, your question "how do we know what else they might be capable of?" certainly seems to be suggesting that you suspect that undocumented parents are more likely to harm children than other parents.

I hoped you knew me better than that... that's exactly NOT what I was trying to say.

All I am pointing out is if someone is here illegally, and does not have a social security number, then how is anyone to know what else has happened in their past? If they're not documented, there's no paper trail to follow. If there's no paper trail to follow, no one can PROVE, one way or the other, who someone is and/or what they may or may not have done in their past.

For people that live here legally, there is a paper trail to follow, and we can verify if they qualify to help with children or not.

So my point revolves around the existence of a paper trail to follow. If you have a paper trail, we can figure out if you're a safety risk or not. If you don't have a paper trail to follow, we have no way of knowing if you're a safety risk or not.

Sorry, but my kids' (and everyone else's kids) safety is more important to me than hurting someone's feelings. I wouldn't hire a babysitter without a background check. Why would I be comfortable with allowing someone into my child's classroom that didn't have the same checks done?

Would you be comfortable with an undocumented volunteer (that you didn't know) to help out in your child's classroom?

Truly, SSN's should not be used for anyone, immigrant or not. SSN's are supposed to be for one purpose, social security, not as ID checks and all this other garbage that's gone on over the years.

How come we don't have the same animosity towards Eastern Europeans who are here illegally or Africans? It's always about demonizing Latinos because they fit the stereotype and we need to feel superior and have some kind of villain to pick on.

It's okay, you don't have to fall all over yourself replying that you think all illegal immigrants need to leave, we know you really only care about the Latinos.

Its good to know Rafael Prieto supports sex offenders and pedophiles in our schools!

Pam Grundy,

I will answer your question on why illegal alien parents should not be allowed in schools: IMMUNIZATIONS

While I seriously doubt all illegal alien kids and anchor babies are immunized (I have a cousin in AL that had her kids' school closed for 2 weeks while they sanitized it because one of the illegal alien kids had TB, how could that happen?) I know for a fact that the parents are not immunized against diseases. They bring them in, transmit them to kids, most of whom will just be carriers, who then transmit those to parents and grandparents who may not be immunized against some killer diseases. And immu=nizations are not foolproof against all diseases.

But hey, what's the death of a few kids in the name of diversity, right Pam?

A nasty brawl broke out at preschool graduation in California reportedly over a single cap and gown, leaving at least one parent injured and the young graduates wailing.

The fight broke out at Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary School in Los Angeles on June 7 and an unidentified parent posted the video on YouTube this week.

“This all started because my son’s teacher was so unorganized,” the parent wrote below the video. “Basically because of budget issues all the kids had to share a cap and gown for pictures. One of the moms in the video was basically taking over and the other one didn’t like it and told her something about it.”

Yes the children are here and we are providing services not much ulike the government in GREECE. When will our country understand that only 40% pay ferderal taxes and almost 48% receive some sort of federal subsidy. The bleeding hearts will be standing next to me in the soup line extolling the virtues of "its the right thing to do".

Bright Beginings, Illeagals and having teachers work ungodly hours off the clock. It is all the same thing. CMES wants to provide everything for free on the backs of its workers and the taxpayers all scream

I too am a CMS teacher and I have to agree with Pam Grundy and Bolyn McClung for the most part.

Here is my take: like it or not, the emerging trends show that hispanics are going to make up a significant portion of our population. About half of elementary kids in CMS are latino. Facts are facts. By looking at this objectivaly, one can see that it is truly in our best interests to build bridges with the latino community - seek common ground. BUT, there has to be give and take on BOTH sides.

We natives need to wake up and realize that they aren't going away and that we need as many of them as educated and productive as possible. That means that kids whose parents came here illegally should not be penalized and discriminated against. I sure wouldn't want that to happen to me or my own children. Let's be realistic.

They (latinos) need to realize that they chose to move to this country and have a responsibility to be a part of this community as well. Demanding that all of CMS goes all-out on Hispanic Heritage Month is absurd. This could easily lead to other groups complaining that THEIR heritage is being overlooked.

Celebrate your own damn heritage at home on your own time. My job is to teach the curriculum and I really don't have the time for teaching a culture that isn't my own, especially with standardized testing. I don't expect CMS to do German Heritage Month for my kids nor should there be a huge focus for any other group.

I am a teacher at a poverty school where over 50% of the students are non English speakers and our test scores are always lagging because of the fact that we have so many students who cannot read the test.

Not only did CMS cut the most important learning tools we had to teach the students English we are always posting our scores next to other schools who do not have our problem. Many of our parents are illegal immigrants and are brought here especially those from Vietnam. Many of the students have never been in school in their country. I was wondering when our country would start the conversation as it plans to fire teachers based on test scores. It is something that needs to be considered and is often not.I enjoy teaching all my students although we do work very hard to communicate. Our school has Spanish speakers in the office and as a parent advocate as well as the teachers are required to send home correspondance in Spanish. It is hard to believe that this conversation is just coming to up since this is the view of the American landscape all over this country in education.

Tell me if I am wrong here. We no longer will deport illegals from here if they are still in school, etc. However, when they get out of school, they can not "legally" hold jobs here.

I had a cowroker whose SSN was stolen by an illegal and the government, the IRS, came after them for unpayment of taxes. The illegal was marking 15 or dependents so they would have nearly nothing taken out of their paycheck. My coworker was not able to get any governmnet body to do anything about the illegal using their SSN.

Finally some good news on the immigration front from an AP article "New Asian immigrants to US now surpass Hispanics":

"For the first time, the influx of Asians moving to the U.S. has surpassed that of Hispanics, reflecting a slowdown in illegal immigration while American employers increase their demand for high-skilled workers."

Of course, the Asians won't need nearly the resources that the largely semi-literate Hispanic illegal immigrant population uses, so there may finally be some relief.

And since a lot of these Asians are likely to be legal immigrants, we know who and what we are getting.